Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“This is amazing work, you guys.”
I sit in the new home office of Rekt Competition Games, inside one of only two office buildings in Crescent Lake, on the outskirts, but still inside city limits.
Izzy Ross and her Alphas, Matthew, Asher, and Will, created this company from the ground up and started it in the basement of their house.
I’ve been coming here for a couple of weeks now, working closely with them on a secret project. And I have my grubby hands on the alpha build right now.
Since Izzy adopted her two pitbull mixes from Adley’s uncle a couple of years back, I knew coming to them for help with my master plan was the right call. That and their game development business. And Izzy’s illustration prowess.
And boy, did they go above and beyond.
“Anything for the fur babies.” Izzy sits across from me at the table, seat off to the side, her long black hair tied up in a high ponytail, her gray eyes sparkling as she smiles.
She scratches the head of her black and white pitbull that has little patches of tan on her face as the dog settles her chin in Izzy’s lap.
Izzy gives the dog a look of pure love before turning back at me.
“We did play tests, and your servers are running strong. Good job, by the way.”
Like I’d produce anything sub-par? I should be insulted.
“There may still be some bugs with the ads, but we can settle those once we’ve done more testing and have more ads to cycle.
” She gestures at me. “And we’re a go on future episodes and add-ons.
All you have to do is tell us how you want to expand when you’re ready.
Oh!” She takes the tablet from my grasp and taps away, then hands it back. “Check it out.”
The new logo. Wow. I look up at this genius artist. “Adley is going to love it.”
Izzy grins at me.
I return my gaze to the tablet in my grasp, flip back to the test app, at what could be the most amazing plan to bring money into the sanctuary that I could have ever come up with.
Rekt created the most adorable mobile game, featuring all sorts of animals players can collect and care for. Izzy created some of the cutest designs I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of illustrations for cozy games in my day.
People are going to trip over themselves to play this.
We’re going to implement a paid subscription option, where all proceeds will go to Springer's Sanctuary, and the free option will show ads, again, all revenue going to the sanctuary.
Adley is going to freak out. Hopefully in a good way.
I know she’s going to want a hand in how this is marketed.
“When the game goes live, I’ll feature it on my GamerTube channel and keep a rolling promotion going in the future.
” Matthew, who’s seated beside Izzy, is one of the most popular GamerTube content creators in the country.
He has these enviable mismatched eyes, perfectly styled dark hair, and a well-manicured beard, like he just stepped out of a high-end barber shop.
And maybe he did. I heard there’s a new one in town.
“Did you guys load up your ads?”
Since they’d volunteered their time, I’d insisted they put their logo prominently all over the game and that they add their own ads, free of charge.
“None of that,” Matthew says, head shaking. “We’re doing this for the sanctuary.”
“But we do appreciate your offer,” Izzy tells me.
When I leave their office building, my cell phone rings from an unknown number. I answer before getting into my car.
“Hello?”
“Adam Jones?” A gruff male voice asks.
“Who’s calling?” I wasn’t born yesterday. I know never to give an affirmative answer to questions like that over the phone with all the bot scam artists out there.
“This is Hugh Nye from Particle.”
I hurry into my car and shut the door. “Mr. Nye! It’s great to hear from you.”
“The chairs looked over your proposal, and they’re in. Seems most of them are real animal lovers.”
I hold back on letting out a huge breath right into my phone. There’s an immediate weight lifted off my chest at his words. “Thank you so much, Mr. Nye. I promise you that this is going to be a good advertising investment.”
“We’re also sending a charitable donation your way.”
Now I have to let the breath out, though I do it as slowly as possible to keep the noise to a minimum. “That’s very generous of you.”
“Our ad team will be in touch. Have a good evening.”
I don’t even get to respond before the call disconnects, and I let out a scream of joy.
Hugh Nye’s son, Peter, was my roommate for four of my six years at Stanford. Pete connected me with his dad when I reached out about the sanctuary’s needs.
Hugh’s company, Particle, is going to be the next big thing in mobile game development services. All signs point to this thing taking off like a rocket, and soon. Getting them to advertise in our app is going to be an amazing boost. And a cash donation?
Holy shit.
My phone dings with Adley’s chime, and I peer at her message.
Adley
Um, what the hell is this?
Below her ominous text is a screenshot from her phone, which I tap on. It’s the new bank account for Springer's Sanctuary that we opened a couple of weeks ago to take donation deposits.
Circled in red, about a million times, is a deposit. From Particle. For $50,000.
My eyes might just pop out of my head. That is way more generous than I expected. But, tax write-offs for big companies are always the name of the game.
Still, this is huge.
My thumbs fly.
Me
I’m coming by to explain. Be there soon.
“So, this donation is from a tech company?”
“Yes.”
“And you worked with a local game developer to make a mobile game… for the sanctuary?”
“Also, yes.”
Adley drops down onto the old couch in the living room and stares blankly at the wall across from her, where the even older TV sits on an entertainment-center-slash-scratching-post.
Shock. It must be shock.
I keep my voice calm and as soothing as possible, approaching her slow and easy. “Adley. I’m sorry I didn’t come to you first. I just wanted to help so bad, I went straight into Work Mode. Any changes you want made—”
I’m cut off as Adley throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my ribs and hugging so tight, it’s tough for my chest to expand on a breath. But I couldn’t give less of a shit.
I embrace her back, circling my arms around her shoulders and holding her tight, craning my neck just enough to rest my cheek on top of her head.
“I can’t believe you did all of this for us.”
Her words are whispered, hoarse, but filled with gratitude I can feel in my veins. Relief washes over me from head to toe, the tension in my muscles draining away as I sigh against her hair.
“You had me worried.”
“I’m sorry. I was so surprised about everything, I think my brain glitched.”
With a laugh, I straighten my stance, lift my hands to her face to coax her to look up at me. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re going to love the game. And that first donation will really help with some of the repairs this place needs.”
Her hands come up to grip my forearms, her watery brown eyes shimmering as she smiles. It’s honestly the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen, Adley on the brink of shedding happy tears. It does things to me. Makes something move inside my chest; prideful and warm and… possessive.
My breathing is faster now, my heart pounding as Adley’s dark lashes flutter, her pink lips part. A shiver runs through my body as her perfume blooms ever so slightly.
“Adam?”
Not trusting my voice to be anything more than a growl, I tilt my head in response, never taking my eyes off of her.
“If you don’t kiss me right now, I’m going to get a step ladder from the garage so I can reach those lips of yours without jumping.”
Kiss her. Kiss her.
I can barely believe she wants me to. I mean… this is… not ideal.
I want to, believe me, I do. I just…
She must see something in my expression to make hers grow concerned. “Adam, what’s wrong?”
My mouth opens, then snaps shut, my eyebrows drawing tight enough my forehead aches.
What do I say? What can I say that won’t make me look like a complete loser?
Her palms rest on my chest. “Talk to me, love.”
Aw, hell. She’s given me a nickname. A pet name.
My body slumps forward from pressure. Pressure I put on myself. “Can we sit? And talk?”
She doesn’t respond, just takes my hand and leads me to the old couch and maneuvers me to sit beside her, where she turns toward me, all the while never releasing my hand.
Taking in a deep breath, I confess. “Since you’d figure it out right away, I may as well tell you. I’ve never…” I swallow hard, clear my throat. “I’ve never done… like, anything. With anyone.”
Confusion crosses Adley’s face briefly before realization settles there. She asks carefully, “Anything?”
I wince and nod as mortification overwhelms me. Taking my hand back, I wipe both of my palms down my face.
Dammit.
“My whole life, no Omega has smelled… right… to me. Not even remotely good. Not like they stank or anything, just that none of them interested me. So I never dated. Never kissed or made out or…”
Fuck me. I’ve never felt like more of a loser being a twenty-five, nearly twenty-six-year-old virgin than right now, as I tell the woman I’d love nothing more than to do the most depraved things to. The woman I’m meant to be with.
“Adam.” Her voice is breathy as she shuffles beside me. And then she’s pulling my hands from my face and straddling my thighs at once, drawing a groan from me.
Her face leans into the crook of my neck, where she inhales deeply, her lips grazing my skin. My dick aches with stiffness, my chest beginning to vibrate with—a purr.
Holy shit, I’m purring. For Adley.
She moans and presses her chest against mine, holding me close to her, head now tucked beneath my chin, and, I think, reveling in my comforting purr. She snuggles into my body, ear at my clavicle, and my purr grows stronger. My resolve does, too.
I reach beneath her chin with my fingers and tilt her head back. Her drowsy eyes open and peer up at me, and whatever she sees on my face makes heat flare in her gaze. When I lean in, she angles her head back so my lips can touch hers, soft like pillows.
It’s just a simple pressing of our lips, but it’s anything but chaste.
Adley takes my face in her hands again, her lips part, and her wet tongue slithers along the seam of my lips. I open my mouth on a groan, letting her be in control. Letting the one who’s done this before show me what she likes, show me what to do.
Our heads tilt to opposite sides, my mouth opens wider, and she whines into it.
Something inside me snaps at the sound.
Closer. I need her closer.
She’s straddling my thighs, but closer to my knees than my hips. I grab her ass with both hands and haul her up my thighs, drawing a cry from my Omega, her perfume blooming around me again as I use my grip to grind her pussy against my rock-hard cock.
I don’t know when it started, but I realize that I’m devouring her mouth like a frenzied animal, out of control, starving.
When Adley pulls back, breathless and face heated, I bury my face in her neck, let my aching teeth graze her skin.
Then it happens. Out of nowhere, without a preamble, a groan rips from my chest, and I’m coming, hips twitching against Adley’s core, body shuddering, bliss overtaking my entire existence.
Followed by mortification.
“That was so hot.”
I whip my head to face Adley, and the look she gives me is so heated, so aroused that I actually believe her. Believe that she really thinks me coming in my pants was hot.
My mouth opens and closes wordlessly, then she kisses me again quickly before gazing into my eyes. “You were so turned on, and you felt comfortable enough with me to let go. That’s a compliment in my book. And really fucking sexy.”
She may just be trying to make me feel better, but it’s working. “I just need more practice with you to work on my self-control.”
The grin she gives me is all sorts of devious, and I swear my dick starts to harden again.
With Adley, I’m certain I’ll get all the practice I need.